Mixing device



p 7, 1955 w. M. DAMRON 3,204,283

MIXING DEVICE Filed Oct. 25, 1963 g/ lill INVENTOR. WILLIAM M. DAM RON United States Patent 3,204,283 MIXING DEVICE -William M. Damron, Franklin Park, N.J., assignor to Lehn & Fink {Products Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 2S, 1963, Ser. No. 318,870 3 Claims. (CRIS- 510) This invention relates to mixing devices and, more particularly, to a novel and improved mixing device or impeller adapted for installation in a receptacle for stirring fluids there-in and to a method of making the impeller.

Many fluids, particularly liquids such as nail polish, ink, paints, adhesives and the like, are susceptible to separating and settling of their heavier constituents when allowed to stand unused for long periods of time, and it is therefore necessary to stir them before use. A number of types of mixing devices which are installed in the receptacle have been previously suggested. However, many of the known types of mixing devices are of rather elaborate structure, thereby making them expensive, and often they do not mix the product completely.

These and other disadvantages of the known types of mixing devices are overcome, in accordance with the invent-ion, by a novel and improved impeller or stirrer comprising a tubular portion having a plurality of blades formed integrally with and extending downwardly from one end of the tubular portion and outwardly across the bottom of a bottle or other container and means for operably coupling the impeller to a cap of a bottle or the like to rotate the impeller.

More particularly, the impeller may be formed from a piece of tubing made of resilient material, such as, a synthetic plastic, by making a plurality of lengthwise slits extending from one end of the tubular portion. The slits define a plurality of blades which may be partially bent outwardly or may remain aligned with the axis of the tubing until the impeller is installed in the receptacle. One form of coupling means for selectively connecting the impeller to a cap consists of one or more slots formed in the end of the tubular piece remote from the blades which receive projecting elements on a member extending downwardly from the cap.

The impeller may be installed in a receptacle having a narrow threaded neck and a correspondingly threaded cap and is of a length such that, when in its lowermost posit-ion in the receptacle, the upper end of the tubular portion extends at least partially into the neck and is laterally supported thereby. Fins attached to a downwardly extending rod, for example, a rod carrying an applicator brush for nail polish, paint and the like, are engaged in the slots in the top of the impeller when the cap is applied to the receptacle.

In use, removal or replacement'of the cap results in a rotational movement of the impeller so that the blades wipe and scrape the bottom of the receptacle and stir the contents of the receptacle. Additionally, the corresponding axial movement of the cap permits an axial upward movement of the impeller, thereby permitting the blades to draw inwardly across the bottom of the receptacle to dislodge all the settled material across the entire bottom of the receptacle. If the stirring is not sutficient during removal of the cap from the receptacle, the user may rotate the cap back and forth a few times, thus providing a number of cycles of the stirring motion described above.

One method for making the impeller, in accordance with the invention, comprises feeding a continuous tube to a set of dies, simultaneously forming with the dies (1) a transverse cut at a predetermined length from the end of the continuous tubing, (2) longitudinal slits extending a predetermined distance in the tubing on one side 3,204,283 Patented Sept. 7, 1965 "Ice of the transverse cut, and (3) slots on the other side of the transverse cut. Another length of tubing is then fed into the dies and the forming steps repeated. An additional step may be employed in the method to pre-splay the blades. For example, when the impeller is made of a thermoplastic material, a heated wedge may be applied to the blades to heat and bend them outwardly to a desired shape.

Further, in accordance with the invention, the receptacle with which the impeller is utilized may include a generally conical projection on the inside of the bottom directly .below the neck through which the impeller is inserted into a bottle. The projection serves to guide the blades outwardly when the impeller is installed therein.

Fora better understanding of the invention, reference may be made to the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the impeller and a method of making it, taken in conjunction with the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which:''

FIGURE 1 is a view in section taken generally through the axis of a bottle and an impeller, showing a cap applied to the bottle and the impeller in its lowermost position therein;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the impeller of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the impeller;

FIG. 4 is a view in section similar to FIG. 1, but in which the cap is removed from the bottle and the impeller is in an upper position; and

FIG. 5 is :a view of a segment of a continuous piece of tubing showing cuts which may be made therein to form an impeller in accordance with the method of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a typical bottle 10 includes a receptacle 11 having a bottom 12 and a wall 14 which curves gradually towards an upstanding threaded neck 16, an impeller 18 disposed therein, and a cap 20 internally threaded for attachment to the neck 16. Fastened to the cap 20 and extending downwardly into the receptacle 11 within the impeller 18 is an applicator brush 24. This or a generally similar form of bottle is well-suited for use for nail polish, paint-s, adhesives, or the like.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 2 and 3, the new impeller 18 comprises a tubular portion 26 having a plurality of blades 28a to 28d formed integrally with and extending from the end of the tubular portion 26. The upper end of the tubular portion is provided with slots 30 (best shown in FIG. 3), which releasably receive fins 31 on the applicator brush 2-4 to couple the impeller 18 to the cap 20, when the latter is placed on the receptacle 15.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 5, a plurality of impellers 18 can be made from an elongated tube. Pieces of a predetermined length are cut from a tube T to form each impeller 18. A plurality of slits 34 are made in the piece of tubing to define blades 28a to 28a. The slots 30 for coupling the impeller to the cap are formed in the opposite end of the tubing.

Preferably, referring to FIG. 5, the method is accomplished by simultaneously forming the slits 34, severing the continuous tube T transversely along the plane C-C to provide a tubular member 32 of predetermined length and cutting or punching the slots 30 by means of a suitable set of dies. The tube T may be supplied from a continuous roll to the dies, and the finished impeller pushed out when another length of tubing is conveyed into the dies.

In FIG. 2, the blades are shown partially spread outwards to more clearly illustrate the form of the impeller. It will be understood however that the blades as formed will lie generally in the same plane as the plane of the original tube.

If desired, the method of forming the impeller may include a step which pre-splays the blades to a desired extent. For example, when the impeller is made of thermo-plastic material, which has a number of desirable properties and is advantageously used for the impeller, a heated cone or the like may be applied longitudinally to the blades for a short period of time to soften and bend them outwardly to approximately the same configuration as the heated instrument. Cooling the blades causes them to set in their splayed condition. Howevensplaying by flexing the blades may take place in the receptacle, as will be described hereinafter.

In use, the impeller is inserted into the receptacle through the neck. When the cap is attached, as shown in FIG. 1, the blades are splayed outwardly along the bottom so that their ends lie at a substantial angle to the axis of the receptacle and almost in contact with the bottom end of the wall 14.

When the cap is removed from the receptacle, as shown in FIG. 4, the resiliency of the blades urges the impeller upwardly through the neck. In this regard it is to be noted that the diameter of the tubular portion is less than the neck opening of the receptacle, so that the impeller can be readily inserted therethrough. Additionally, it is desirable that the upper end of the tubular portions 26 project partially into the neck 16 of the bottle and be supported thereby, so that the impeller is prevented from tipping over in the receptacle, thus making it diflicult to reinsert the brush 24.

The natural resiliency of the blades urges the impeller upwardly and simultaneously retracts the blades inwardly. When a threaded type of cap is used, removal and replacement of the cap results in simultaneous rotation and axial movement of the impeller. Therefore, the blades move substantially across the bottom of the receptacle, dislodging and thereby stirring the settled material. The reverse of this process also takes place when the cap is replaced on the receptacle and screwed down.

\Vhile the stirring action of the impeller during removal and replacement of the threaded cap may be entirely adequate to mix the contents thoroughly, the user may also loosen the cap and then rotate it back and forth, to provide more complete stirring and greater agitation.

To facilitate splaying of the blades on the bottom of the receptacle 11 when the impeller is inserted therein, a projection 36 is provided on the inner surface of the bottom 12 directly below the tubular portion 26 of the impeller. The projection is of generally conical shape, so that when the impeller is inserted into the bottle through the neck, the blades engage downwardly sloping sides of the projection and are guided outwardly thereby until, when the impeller is in its lowermost position, the blades are completely splayed, as best shown in FIG. 1. .The projection 36 makes pre-splaying of the blades unnecessary.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the above-described embodiments of an impeller and a method of forming it are merely exemplary and are susceptible of many variations and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Such modifications and variations are intended to be within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A bottle for fluids, comprising a receptacle having an opening, a cap for said opening having means thereon for removably securing it on the receptacle, an impeller disposed in the receptacle for stirring the fluid therein, said impeller including an upper tubular portion, a plurality of resilient blades united with said tubular portion and having lower ends forming an angle with the axis of said tubular portion and disposed adjacent the bottom of the receptacle when the cap is on the receptacle, and means on said impeller and said cap for detachably couplingthem together, said impeller blades contacting the bottom of the bottle and being splayed outwardly thereby when the cap is secured to the receptacle and having a resilience such that the impeller and cap are urged upw-ardly thereby when the cap is removed from the receptacle.

2. A bottle for fluids,rcomprising a receptacle having an opening, a cap for said opening having means thereon for removably securing it on the receptacle, an impeller disposed. in the receptacle for stirring the fluid therein, said impeller including an .upper tubular portion, a plurality of resilient bladesunited with said tubular portion and having lower ends forming an angle with the axis of said tubular portion and disposed adjacent the bottom of the receptacle when the cap is on the receptacle, and means on said impeller and said cap for detachably couplingthem together, the bottom of the receptacle including a boss disposed below the tubular portion for splaying said blades of said impeller outwardly when the cap is placed on the receptacle.

3. A bottle for fluids, comprising a receptacle having an opening, a cap for the opening, threaded means for removably securing the cap on the receptacle, an applicator on said cap and extending into said bottle, and an impeller disposed in thejreceptacle, said impeller consisting of a tubular member receiving said applicator telescopically and extending through said opening to the bottom of said bottle, said tubular member having a plurality of slits formed in the end thereof remote from said cap and extending longitudinally from said end to points spaced from the other end, said slits defining a plurality of flexible blades which are flexed to dispose the lower ends thereof at an angle to the axis of said member and in contact with the bottom of the receptacle when the cap is secured thereon.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,919,101 7/33 Fitzgerald 259106 2,641,412 6/53 Byberg 259-107 X 2,793,012 5/57 Wolf 259122 3,115,664 12/63 Del Ponte l5--510 CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner. 

3. A BOTTLE FOR FLUIDS, COMPRISING A RECEPTACLE HAVING AN OPENING, A CAP FOR THE OPENING, THREADED MEANS FOR REMOVABLY SECURING THE CAP ON THE RECPTACLE, AN APPLICATOR AND SAID CAP AND EXTENDING INTO SAID BOTTLE, AND AN IMPELLER DISPOSED IN THE RECEPTACLE, SAID IMPELLER CONSISTING OF A TUBULAR MEMBER RECEIVING SAID APPLICATOR TELESCOPICALLY AND EXTENDING THROUGH SAID OPENING TO THE BOTTOM OF SAID BOTTLE, SAID TUBULAR MEMBER HAVING A PLURALITY OF SLITS FORMED IN THE END THEREOF REMOTE FROM SAID CAP AND EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY FROM SAID END TO POINTS SPACED FROM THE OTHER END, SAID SLITS DEFINING A PLURALITY OF FLEXIBLE BLADES WHICH ARE FLEXED TO DISPOSED THE LOWER ENDS THEREOF AT AN ANGLE TO THE AXIS OF SAID MEMBER AND IN CONTACT WITH THE BOTTOM OF THE RECEPTACLE WHEN THE CAP IS SECURED THEREON. 